Friday, June 1, 2012

¡La Primera Dia!

Last night, I moved in with my host family! They are very, very sweet and helpful. They live in the Southwest part of the city in a very nice house with four bedrooms! The parents, Paula and Martín, have been really helpful in helping me adjust to speaking Spanish 24/7. They also have a niece that lives here and goes to the University although I haven't really talked with her yet. Their two year old son is adorable as well. Last night, my host mom made me some quinoa and tea (I've been really sick since arriving here so I have not been eating much) and we talked a bit about my life in San Francisco and what she does every day here in Cochabamba. I played with Ignacio (the son) a little bit and I went to sleep really early because I was super tired.
My bed for the summer
This morning I went to work at 8:30 at IDH  (Institute for Human Development). We didn't have an official work day, just a quick meeting and introductions to the staff. IDH is incredible. Their office is a large building with really advanced technology in comparison to the other organizations in Cochabamba. I will be working in the Communications section of the organization, working with various forms of media most likely. I won't know exactly until Monday. In the back of the building there is a really nice auditorium with a projector. The communications office has two iMacs and a small audio recording system.... I am going to have A LOT of fun with their equipment I think.

After touring the building, I already had an idea for what I want my big project and grant proposal to be. Because the auditorium is so nice and modern, I was thinking it would be a great place to screen films that deal with issues related to sexual rights. I'm thinking I might propose a program for high school students (specifically those who might be LGBT, HIV positive, or otherwise inclined to discuss sexual-health/rights issues) where a movie would be screened once a month that deals with these issues. Then I would design discussion questions for after the movie to discuss the issues the movie addresses. I would also design an advertising campaign so that IDH could advertise the group in high schools and around the city. I think it could be a really awesome outlet for LGBT youth who otherwise are not welcomed by society. I would want to start, possibly, with the film XXY from Argentina and then research other films in Spanish that deal with these issues. Maybe throw in a few English-language films as well like Milk. The budget would include purchasing the 12 DVDs (one year of screenings) and supplies for advertising. It's just an idea, but I am getting pretty excited about it!

I stared at a map for a long while after work and figured out how to walk to my host family's house (thanks to help from Julia and Patricia from FSD!) and I got there totally fine. Sin problemas! This afternoon I am going to brave the bus systems and try to figure out how to get to Sarah's host family's house and then out and about in the city... Could get crazy!

A park 2 blocks from my house
Avenue Blanco Galindo - The big street by my host family's house


1 comment:

  1. Hi, Lucas!! Oh, my gosh! This is amazing! I am SO glad you are posting this. What an amazing adventure right from the get-go. Glad to hear you made it safely (if not in a timely manner...) and that things seem to be off to great start. Your project sounds awesome and I can't wait for the updates.

    Shannon

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